Superb episode!

This was another simply brilliant episode of Criminal Minds! Such a creppy case and very creepy moments with the family held captive. There were some really shocking moments - especially when the mum wanted the money over the daughter's boyfriends' life... that was shocking...

Jeanne Tripplehorn is great, and even though I'm not a fan of her character, I think Blake is becoming slightly more and more tolerable, especially when she has less screen time, as was the case again today.

Interesting developments for Hotch as well! I can't wait for the next episode!

Where are they finding guest actors?

Ok first things first: Blake didn't bother me this time. She more or less blended in whereas in her first appearance I disliked her more than immensely. The rest of our group were balanced and awesome. I love that Garcia is given a bigger role in the cases more and more as time goes on.

Secondly: The case - albeit creepy and such, the facts just didn't make a lot of sense as to why and how he found these families - and how he knew how bad their dysfunction was going to become. Unless he was monitoring lots of families - and all because the family across the street captivated him... and then disappointed him... but I only watched it once so I may have missed some compelling factor. Plus I was distracted by the guest actors - which brings me to my last point.

Except for the young boy - Braydon- the overall acting of the guest actors was abominable. Horrible. Unconvincing. Was there an actor's strike I missed? I'm trying to be specific, but it was so badly acted to me that I can't even be specific. However, that is what stuck out to me most - the lack of acting. It started with the Japanese grandma - then to the family. I despised the mother - blah blah blah.. rather than go on... I just had issues with the acting! But. I did like the episode :)

8x03 - Taking the fun out of dysfunction!

I found this episode to be just okay. I wasn't really engaged nor that concerned with the survival of the family. I think the only time I cared was when the kid picked the and got away. There was just so much dysfunction I couldn't help but laugh every time new drama was revealed and the characters hysterical reactions to the news.

The Fox - But nowhere near as good.

I admit that I am difficult to please when it comes to television but this show, at least until Season 5, was always able to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat. These days, a truly excellent episode is as rare as a meteor shower, possibly even more so.

I don't have a problem with Alex Blake, she doesn't come across as the know-it-all that eager Agent Seaver always did but I don't agree that Reid has Asperger's Syndrome. Having said that, it was nice that she actually discussed the possibility with him instead of just making a joke about it. I did, however, think it was a bit tasteless to mention it in front of the other team members. Bad writing accounts for that.

The unsub bored me senseless and I found that, apart from the young sons involved, I wasn't all that bothered about the families either. One question I can't fathom is why the second family had a gun loaded with blanks to 'kill' themselves with. One wonders whether the first family were given the same type of bullets or whether the unsub had some kind of change of heart?

On a brighter note, it was great to see Jack. His interaction with Thomas Gibson is terrific. And even better? We MAY just be rid of Beth. I hope we are, I find her boring.

Wonderful episode

I've been cynical about recent CM episodes pretty much since the moronic decision to sack AJ and Paget back in season 6. I find myself seeing ways the writers contradict what was earlier said about a character or a plot point. I watch with a critical eye.

But for the first time in months I was completely involved in the episode. Wonderful, psychological, fast paced, and best of all, the writers are having a success in writing Alex Blake. I didn't know they'd be up to task after the mess they made of Ashley Seaver, and I wasn't fond of Blake in the first episode, but then I disliked Rossi intensely in his first episode, and he is now one of my absolute favourites. What she said on the plane pointing out that Reid exhibits symptoms of Aspergers was rude, but it was absolutely the kind of foot in mouth situation real people encounter every day, but we so rarely see in stories. In that respect, it was very good writing. The acting by the guest stars, too, was much better than I've come to expect recently. All in all, fantastic episode.

An unsub that destroys the lives of happy families

This was a really good episode with an unsub that takes happy families and takes that happiness away from them which is the thing he never had in his childhood.The unsub holds them in a remote location and tears the family apart by making them make insane decisions and twisting there minds to make them feel helpless and makes them reveal there dark truth to the rest of the family.He put them through horrible situations that no family would never think about going through.I was glad to see the unsub was caught and it was strange to here him say that's what the family needed which shows how crazy he was.

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